Remnants
by JokersMaze
Summary: The Future Foundation interrupted the events of the game at Hope's Peak before the first trial could begin. The students survive and work with the organization to fight and reclaim the world, but despair will always find a way to infiltrate the fragile hope they've made.


" _Gyumeh!_ "

"Are you enjoying yourself now?"

"Are _you_?"

"Huh?"

"Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is _not_ allowed. You've violated a school regulation…" Monokuma growled. "I invoke the mighty summon spell! Help! To me, godly spear Gungnir!"

Junko blinked down at the monochrome toy pinned beneath her foot as silence filled the room. He blinked back, his grin turning to a flush of embarrassment after a long moment of silence. Absolutely nothing had happened, and according to his new red-faced expression, that had not been part of the plan.

"Ahem! I _said,_ " Monokuma repeated. " _To me, godly spear Gungnir!_ "

Another moment of silence. A spear of delusions, more like it.

"Um…" Hagakure stared with along with all of the other students. "You alright dude?"

" _What the hell is going on?!"_ Monokuma yelled from beneath Junko's boot, flailing his arms around. "Fine! No spears! But you've still violated a school regulation… I'll have you executed some _other_ way!"

"Are you, like, totally mental or something?" Junko asked. "Whatever! It looks like you can't stop me anyway so I'm not gonna bother wasting my time at your dumb trial! I guess no one else has to either after seeing _this_ little scene!"

Monokuma huffed and puffed angrily, seething so much his entire face had gone bright red. Before he could shoot a retort at her, the lights in the gymnasium flickered and dimmed.

"Oh, _real_ scary." The fashionista rolled her eyes. "What? You think some stupid trick like that's gonna scare us?"

Silence.

"Hellooooooo? Or did those stupid batteries of yours finally die?"

The toy she had stepped on, however, was no longer responding. Monokuma had gone completely still, the red light from his eye dimming until it went out entirely after a persistent flicker. Along with this, the lights in the gymnasium then blinked completely out and left the students in complete darkness. The students waited.

"G-Guys…?" Chihiro's voice asked fearfully.

"Hey!" Mondo roared. His sudden volume caused some to jump. "What the fuck's going on?!"

"I-It's all o-over now…" Fukawa stammered. "That s-stupid model girl has k-killed us all…!"

From out the doors, in the direction of the main hall, there was thumping. An echoing, heavy noise that resounded through the space of the large room they were in. From the absence of the sound of footsteps in the room, it could be presumed that no one dared to move.

"S-Sakura?"

"I am over here, Hina."

"Quiet!" Ishimaru's voice hissed as Asahina's trailed over to the fighter's position. "It is clear that this is not what our headmaster intended to happen. We must standby and await further instruction from our teachers!"

"You really expect us to wait for the return of that bear?" Byakuya questioned in bewilderment. "Whoever that is, they're likely our best chance at escape. After all, the enemy of our enemy is our friend… and this 'friend' sounds quite well equipped."

"B-But what if it's a neutral boss?!" Hifumi squealed. "They have no motive in mind, they just want to destroy, destroy, _destroy!_ Poof! They find us and that'll be 'the end' for us! Th-They better not come this way!"

Celeste sighed. "I'm afraid it seems we don't have much of a choice as to where they go, do we…? Listen. The unpleasant ruckus grows closer."

The gambler's words were true. As the echoing persisted, there was a loud bang, and then an explosion that was thankfully too far away to damage the ears of the students present. A few in the gymnasium screamed, all the usual students who were used to being flighty and scared being the sources. The quick pace of heavy footfall came in their direction from the main hall. Things clicked. Students began moving backwards—blind in the darkness, but too anxious to stay where they were. At this point, all were too choked by fear to mutter any expressions of concern or anger.

The doors to the gymnasium flew open, revealing lights which caused some to flinch back and shield their eyes from the sudden brightness. They were too pointed, too focused. The glaring white hurt their eyes and prevented them from seeing clearly as their vision blurred.

When most students regained their bearings, they would find themselves staring down the barrel of a gun, their class completely encircled by armored soldiers who outnumbered them by at least twenty personnel.

"Wh-What the hell?!" Leon yelled, backing closer to the center. "Look, we're the victims here! Don't shoot! We didn't do anything!"

Others joined in agreement, shouting their own claims and overlapping their voices until it was impossible to distinguish exactly what each person was saying. Ishimaru was shouting something about how he was unarmed and there was no need to direct their guns at a group of innocent students, Fukawa was growling at how they all just wanted to shoot her down because she was so ugly, Junko was complaining that the lights were too bright and were damaging her precious eyes, and it turned out that only a few had the restraint to remain silent and refrain from moving.

Eventually, it was the sound of a canister hitting the ground that disrupted the steady clamor. Only a few were able to notice the clinks of the metal against the floor beneath the noise of their own voices, but those few either fell silent or audibly questioned what the sound had been.

It was clear and odorless, the knockout gas. The students who weren't lucky enough to be overtaken gradually slumped to the ground suddenly with sounds reminiscent of sacks of flour as they hit the floor, heavy and entirely devoid of life. The others were more gracefully, swaying or dropping to their knees before they found they could not steady themselves or keep their eyes open despite their will. They joined their companions in sleep soon enough.

Some of the last to fall were Byakuya and Kirigiri, who had possessed the intelligence to hold their breaths and cover their faces. Even they, however, had to breathe eventually, and the heir was the first to submit. He stumbled and fell to the ground next to a snoring Hagakure. Kirigiri was the last to fall, but not before she focused her gaze on the encirclement of soldiers and noted what she could on their equipment.

Her eyelids were heavy and she felt herself already falling, but the words left her mouth before she lost consciousness completely.

"Future… Foundation…?"

She, too, would be swallowed up by the desire to sleep.


End file.
